Demographics

Chester County, Pennsylvania’s land area is 759 square miles. It contains 73 municipalities consisting of 57 townships, 15 boroughs, and one city (Coatesville). The county seat is the Borough of West Chester.

Chester County’s population is 519,293, an increase of 12,718 (2.5%) since 2012.

15.7% of the population is age 65 and older, a 18% increase since 2012.

There are 9,849 residents (1.9%) that identify as “two or more races,” which is an increase of 18% since 2012.

51,818 residents (10%) were born outside of the US.

64,583 residents (13.2%) speak a language other than English at home, a 12.5% increase since 2012.

7,236 workers take public transportation to work, an increase of 19.2% since 2011.

Median household income is $96,656, up by 17.2% since 2012.

In 2017, 4,816 Chester County families (3.6%) were below the poverty level, down from the 5.1% level in 2012.

6.4% of children under 18 years and 5.9% of residents age 65 and older live below the poverty level.

The number of residents age 25 and over without a high school diploma decreased 0.8% since 2012 to 23,651.

Over half of residents (52.2%) age 25 and older have a Bachelor’s degree or higher.

The highest educational attainment for 30.9% of residents age 25 and over is a Bachelor’s degree

21.3% age 25 and over have a graduate or professional degree. Those with a Bachelor’s degree increased by 8.2% and those with a Graduate degree increased by 16.9% since 2012.

There are 200,237 housing units in Chester County, an increase of 3.3% increase since 2012.

The median home value is $355,000 and the median rent is $1,250. Both values have increased by 9.5% since 2012.

75.4% of the housing units in Chester County are owner-occupied.

44.2% of renters pay 30% or more of household income toward housing costs.